>> welcome to the "journal" live from berlin. >> here's what's coming up on the show. >> a car bomb explosion hits the lebanese capital, killing a top government official. >> at the eu's summit in brussels, leaders reached a hard-bop compromise. >> germany court convicts 10 somali pirates in the first piracy case in 400 years. -- at the eu summit in brussels,

leaders reached a hard-fought compromise. >> a senior lebanese intelligence official has been killed in a massive car bombing in central beirut that left seven other people dead and dozens injured. >> tensions in lebanon have been rising as a result of the syrian conflict, although it is not yet known who is behind the attack. some are already speculating it could be elated to -- related to the ongoing fighting. >> lebanese religious communities are divided between those who support the current government and the sunnis who backed the rebels. >> these men are trying to stop a young girl from jumping out of the damaged building. it was the midday rush hour in beirut when the massive car bomb detonated in the christian district. many parents were fetching their children from school. other residents of the area were enjoying an outdoor lunch.

>> we had just finished eating when the roof over our heads collapsed. >> it soon became clear who the likely target was -- the senior lebanese intelligence official was among the dead. he recently played a role in the arrest on terror charges of a former minister with links to syria. >> the destruction -- we know that from the days of our own civil war, but when people start dying, no one can make that better. >> syria has troops stationed in lebanon for 30 years. most shi'ites and many christians support the syrian leader. the sunnis, who are the main opposition group in lebanon, backed the syrian rebels. >> there is no one in this group who accepts that lebanon is used

as a battleground and that lebanese pay the price. >> the syrian government denied it had any hand in the bombing. >> international envoy brahimi i in syria pushing for a temporary cease-fire. >> meanwhile, syria war -- syrian warplanes continue to fire on rebel positions. unconfirmed reports indicate that 150 people were killed on thursday. well, europe is set to get a banking regulator next year. at a two-day summit in brussels, eu leaders came up with a time line for the body to be gradually implemented in 2013. >> the details are still to be hashed out, but here's what we know right now -- the european central bank will function as supervisor in chief and have the power to intervene in any of the eurozone's 6000 banks.

damages coming up with a time line was a compromise between france and germany, which had been at odds at the scope of the ecb's new powers and when they will be put in place. and it was a long night for the chancellor, but in the end, angela merkel got what she wanted. a eurozone banking supervisor will not go into operation in germany. >> people need to be brought together in a whole new authority, which today, on october 19, does not even have a legal framework ready on the horizon. no one can tell me it is going to be up and running by january and better than anything we currently have. it just would not work. >> instead, you leaders agreed to have the legal framework in place by january 1 -- eu leaders agreed. the european central bank is to

lead the mechanism, but the precise number of banks to be monitored and what powers it will have remained unclear. france was looking for more rapid action. >> what do i feel about this meeting? it took longer than what is really necessary because there was already a basic agreement between germany and france, but it took longer because it was also a debate between those in the eurozone than those outside. >> those differences were also evident in other areas. non-year-old member britain is already threatening to veto the you -- non-euro member britain is already threatening to veto the you -- the eu. >> as for the banking supervisor, the european council president says it will be implemented sometime in 2013. the date is important because only then can the eurozone

rescue fund start recapitalizing struggling eurozone banks directly. >> let's get a check on how stocks reacted to the banking deal out of europe. our correspondent has more from frankfurt. >> traders on the frankfurt floor do very much work under a common european supervisor and have supported the idea from the beginning because european banks are strongly in tangled, but bank shares have been heavily under pressure due to a very pessimistic verdict from u.s. ratings agency moody's, which expects hard times for german banks and warns they are not as crisis-resistant as institutes in other countries. it put pressure on the dax, but the german dax was also under pressure after a very successful week due to very disappointing results from the u.s. >> let's get a closer number at that -- a closer look at those numbers. it was a down day for the tax, ending its winning streak because of concerns about

europe's banks. it was a similar story for the year of stocks -- the euro stoxx 50. trading is still under way for the dow jones industrial average, and it is being dragged lower by disappointing corporate earnings. the euro is trading for $1.3021. and suddenly, today is the 25th anniversary of the stock market crash of 1987, known as black monday. the dow plunged more than 20% on that date. >> that's right. in europe, leaders are hoping the eu's banking deal will help shore markets and reduce the possibility of an event like that happening again. >> but the sad reality on the ground is that ordinary citizens continue to feel the pinch of the eurozone debt crisis, and so far, it shows no signs of letting up. >> one egg for dinner -- for the

whole family. the spanish red cross is using this add to highlight the plight of the many people in spain finding it hard to make ends meet. for the first time in its history, the red cross is collecting donations for the unemployed here. some in spain are having problems affording food. others cannot pay their mortgage. when i intend goes back payments. the opposition in the northwestern region is skeptical of the government's response to the crisis. >> they're not going to bail out they're going to bail out the banks of the rigid at the expense of people, pensions, public workers, and social rights. that is why bringing forward these elections is not an innocent move. it is calculated so the first, there is the vote, and then they will do what they need to do. >> spain has already received aid for its embattled banks, but new figures released by the

central bank suggest that may not be enough. many of the country's financial institutions are struggling and the weight of bad loans -- under the weight of bad loans that will never be paid back. at last count, they totaled 179 billion euros, 50 billion euros more than last year. this is why spend like to see a banking union introduce quickly -- it would allow the country's banks to drive directly on the rescue fund. >> to russia now, and president vladimir putin is looking to consolidate national control over the country's oil industry. >> the state-controlled oil giant is looking to expand. >> from what we're hearing, they're offering a stock and cash offer worth about $25 billion. bp is remaining tight-lipped

about any possible deal. >> the headquarters of the world's biggest oil producer could be -- could soon be a stone's throw from the kremlin. they want to buy bp's 50% stake and its joint venture. >> that means that the country's third largest oil company is based imaging being taken over by the biggest one pier that would create a new giant that produces about 40% of russian oil. >> president vladimir putin is backing the deal. the future of bp and russia was discussed a few years ago. some analysts believe the acquisition is not in the industry's best interests. >> obviously, if i instead of -- if instead of two major players

you have only one, that is not likely to stimulate competition, regardless of what the antitrust authority may say. competition will suffer. >> but bp is not planning to completely exit the russian market. if the deal is confirmed, vp could join forces to extract oil in the arctic. >> some sports now and the fallout from the lance armstrong doping scandal continues. now a major cycling team sponsor says it is cutting ties with the sport completely. >> this is especially significant because the dutch banking group has sponsored a team for the past 17 years and was the biggest backer of the professional cycling. >> the company said it was no longer confident that cycling was a clean sport. >> the end of an era. this team has run its last race. the dutch banking group is severing ties to professional cycling at the end of the year amid mounting scandals over

building in the sport. the latest involving seven-time tour de france winner lance armstrong was the final straw. >> we are no longer convinced that the international professional world of cycling can make this a clean and fair sport, and we are not confident that this will change for the better in the foreseeable future. >> the announcement is another blow for cycling's world governing body. it has been accused of being too passive in the fight against doping. the former uci president is also alleged to have concealed a positive test by armstrong in 1999. >> did they want to find an athlete of his stature guilty of doping? we found clear accusations that positive tests were not dealt with by the book. >> current uci president mcclain has a decision to make. leslie, the u.s. and test the

agency released a report saying armstrong's doping practices were the most detail and successful in sporting history. there will have to decide whether to strip him of his tour de france titles. >> this weekend, all eyes will be on the clash between defending champs dortmund and their archrivals. >> this is the biggest derby in the bundesliga. >> it was no holds barred here at this training session. the players look like they are ready for a fight. but portman are missing some key players. two are out with injuries, and that's only the beginning of their concerns. the reigning champions are trailing behind bayern-munich by 9 points. they're counting on fans for strength.

>> we need to make sure that the fans feel it, the intensity, the passion, that they can feed off it to create that momentum. that could bring us the positive results we need. >> they are ready for a win against their arch rivals. >> i have been with them for so long and play at -- in many debbies in my youth. they are always important to me. >> the coach still needs to decide between goalkeepers, but he says the team is ready to take on dortmund. >> i think we bring a lot of positive qualities to the game. we showed that in our last match at home, except the result was not so good that time. >> but the odds are with dortmund. they have won the past two local

derbies. >> coming up after the break, we will look at germany's first private trial in 400 years. and palestinians go to the polls on saturday. >> and if you have any nostalgia for the old vw buses from the 1960's -- i don't know if you remember them -- we have a story about that. >> stay with us.

>> welcome back. >> it is the first sentencing of its kind in 400 years. a german court has convicted four somali pirates. >> our next report shows bringing pirates to justice has been a long and complicated process. >> they are a long way from home, and they are not going home anytime soon. 10 somali pirates sentenced by a german court. the three youngest of two years in juvenile detention.

it was not a brief trial. the court in hamburg took two years and more than 100 days in session to finally reach its verdict. the 10 men hijacked the german flag container ship in april 2010. the captain managed to send out an sos before hiding with his 15-member crew in the ship's panic room. after a dramatic 3.5-hour rescue mission, dutch commandos detained the pirates. for months, not much more was known about the episode. then came the tipping point -- shortly before the end of the trial, one of the somalis confessed. the story that unfolded was one of kidnapping and extortion. he himself claimed to have been nothing more than a translator. it was the first piracy trial on german soil in 400 years.

>> the trial, as we heard, was very expensive and went on for two years. our political correspondent talk to us earlier about the complications of the case. >> there were quite a few complications in this trial. it began with trying to identify the defendants, figure out who they were and how old they were. of course, the defendants had no records of their birth, and somalia being a failed state, there were no records there to consult, so the court had to rely in some cases on dental analysis and bone x-rays to try to ascertain the ages to decide whether the men should be tried as juveniles or as adults. the defendants also suffered from depression. there were suicide attempts along the way. it was a very difficult trial. also with respect to the jurisprudence, again, there has been no privacy trial in germany for hundreds of years.

it was complicated. >> that was our correspondent, terry martin, talking about that. coming up, we look at the lighter side of u.s. politics. >> first, let's take a look at some of the other stories making headlines. a roadside bomb has ripped through a minibus in the northern afghan province of ball. 19 people were killed. 14 when did. the victims were taken to a regional hospital. the bus was carrying mostly women and children and going to a wedding party. -- 19 people were killed, 14 wounded. >> a fundamentalist german muslim has been sentenced for stabbing two police officers. he admitted to attacking the officers during a demonstration in may. both officers survive. the situation turned violent when a neo-nazi group displayed cartoons of the prophet mohammed. >> a woman died after being

dragged out to sea during a coastal storm in spain. a man is also missing. torrential rains have caused flooding while catalonia's emergency services have declared a state of alert. >> two presidential candidates, the archbishop of new york, and a major memorial dinner -- it sounds like a recipe for last, right? turns out that it actually was pretty funny. >> politics were certainly very heavy in the air, at least for a few moments, though, the two were able to put their differences aside and share some laughs with america's rich and famous. >> for the president and his arrival, it was a light-hearted break from the campaign in an upscale new york hotel -- for the president and his rival. >> it is nice to finally relax and where what i wear when the house. >> but the combativeness of the campaign was never far from view. >> the campaign will be grueling, exhausting.

president obama and i are its lucky to have one person who is always in our corner, someone we can lean on and someone who is a comforting presence, without whom we would not be able to go another day. i have my beautiful wife. he has bill clinton. >> president obama also joked about mitt romney's vast wealth. >> earlier today, i went shopping at some stores in the town. in their -- understand governor romney went shopping for some stores in midtown. but he also showed he could laugh at himself. >> this is the third time governor romney and i have met recently. as some of you may have noticed, i have a lot more energy in our second debate. i felt really well rested after the nice -- i had in the first debate -- be nice long nap i had in the first debate. >> and to was only a brief interlude before the campaign's returned to the trenches. >> the palestinian west bank is voting in elections this weekend

that the government hopes will help overcome internal divisions and provide strength for a push for independence and statehood. >> the last time palestinians went to the polls was in 2006 for general elections, which were decisively won by the islamic hamas movement. >> hamas is refusing to take part in saturday's vote, which is being viewed with a leap by many in the secular party discovering that voters are becoming increasingly conservative, especially regarding women's issues -- being viewed with relief by many in the secular party, which is discovering that voters are becoming increasingly conservative. >> she is running with an independent women's list with one goal -- to get more women in politics. not an easy task in this conservative city. she has a hard time convincing even women to vote for her. >> the women's list has to appeal directly to women, asking questions like, "why don't you push for your rights? why can women the decision makers? why can a woman not say what she

needs -- how much water, electricity, or whatever else?" >> these are the first elections of any sort in six years, but one key political force is boycotting the contest. hamas says the elections are not fair. the poll this been completely canceled in the gaza strip. >> we all know about this division between dogs and the west bank, and if these elections are held without gauze and jerusalem, then the division will only get worse. we want a unified palestinian people. >> out on the streets, opinions are mixed. no one should boycott the election. voting is a human right that we should all exercise.

>> we've been waiting for any election since 2006. it is an important step in a vote for the democratic people. it is what we need. >> i'm not going to vote. with local council elections, you can never be sure if the candidates are 100% trustworthy and honest. >> these local elections have been postponed twice. now the electoral commission is hoping for strong voter turnout. it is, after all, an historic day. these are the first direct elections for hebron's city council since 1996. >> sun says the vote is an opportunity to inject new life into the council and offer an alternative to the fatah party. she says it is time to end the stagnation. >> the people want this election. we have not had local elections for 36 years.

will we have to wait that long again before hamas and fatah finally resolve their differences? >> even just one or two seats would be a huge success, she says. official results are due out early next week. >> what comes to mind when i mention a vw bus from the 1970's? >> flower power, for example? a group of servers heading off to the beach? >> do not find many of these on the streets anymore, not in germany at least, but in egypt, it is a different story. >> microbuses are a common sight on egypt's roads. they may be loud and clog up the streets, but for the millions of people who use them to get around every day, they are essential. in the city of weisel near

cairo, they are everywhere. many of their owners swear by them, preferring them to other forms of transport. >> i have driven trucks and even tanks and chevrolet's, too, but this car -- i tell you, this car is unbeatable. >> love of the vw bus has led to some unusual modifications. the vehicles were first imported to egypt in the 1970's and had been -- have been a permanent feature on the streets ever since. if you want to hitch a ride, though, you first need to know the sign language. >> that means the pyramids, and that means the street, and this is how you get to the university. >> each journey costs a few since. the driver earns around 10 euros a day, enough to provide for his family, he says. the white vw buses have become indispensable in egypt's cities.

life without them -- unimaginable. >> it is comfortable. >> sweet little cars. >> we would be standing around all day without them. >> we tried to find out what kind of distances the microbuses cover per day in kilometers. people just shrug their shoulders and tell us the buses are used around-the-clock. >> how about that? ok, before we go, a brief reminder of our top story -- a senior lebanese intelligence official has been killed in a massive car bombing in central beirut. >> tensions in lebanon have been rising as a result of the syrian conflict. keep it here. we will have the latest throughout the next hours. >> see you then. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--